finding joy in the little things

i am thankful

thanksgiving is not a holiday i choose to celebrate — a little of that due to not enjoying the types of food that are typically prepared and served, but a lot of it is because, at least to me, the day serves as nothing more than a painful reminder of the enormous suffering and genocide of millions of native americans… and that is not something i can in good conscience toast to.

but, as my “thanksgiving gift” to the wondrous world wide web, i will save talks of cold-blooded massacres for later and focus instead on the goodness that is living to see another year come to a close.

in no particular order, things i am thankful for:

running water. electricity. harry potter. twinkle lights. seasonal soy candles. glass water bottles. the honest company. caffeine in latte and dark chocolate form. yoga. essential oils. pyjamas and house slippers. the invention of printed photographs. the invention of subtitles. our netflix account. our spotify account. this blog. the union station membership liam was given for his third birthday. living within walking distance of a library. living within walking distance of a chipotle. the great friendships i have made through instagram. series 9 of doctor who not being ruined by steven moffat. artificial plants and flowers because, try as i might, i cannot keep anything that isn’t human alive for more than a couple days. my record collection — especially the records i’ve been given by my parents and father-in-law, tony; to be entrusted with such precious possessions means the world to me.

being aaron’s wife. being liam’s mama. my parents. my brother. growing up in the midwest. getting pregnant at age 19 because “being a young mother means that we met a little early, but it also means i get to love [him] a little longer.” the gift aaron has given me by working tirelessly to provide enough so i am able to stay home with our darling boy. the opportunity to return to kansas city from dallas at the start of the year. living only four blocks from my mum and dad as of last friday. the increase in pay aaron received when he was recently promoted; money can’t buy happiness, but it can keep a roof over your head. it can put food on the table. it can allow you to save for the future — something we’ve never been able to do until now. our dreams of one day owning a car that is younger than we are, or traveling around and outside of the states, or designing and building our own house, or opening up a comic shop are no longer wildly improbable.

but most of all —

i am thankful to be alive, right here, right now. to have been granted twenty-three years and three months and twenty-one days on this earth, and to have been given the wholly undeserved gift of god’s grace.